


Down the Mountain

by HailingTorrent



Category: Star vs. The Forces Of Evil
Genre: Coming Out, F/M, Gender Dysphoria, Trans Female Character, Trans Girl Marco Diaz, Transitioning
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-20
Updated: 2017-03-09
Packaged: 2018-09-10 15:46:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,509
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8923024
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HailingTorrent/pseuds/HailingTorrent
Summary: Marco learns that you find support in the strangest of places.ORMarco Diaz Comes Out as a trans girl to Tom.





	1. Small Beginnings

**Author's Note:**

> Hey  I just recently finished Star vs The Forces Of Evil, and I am totally on the hype train for Trans!Marco  So, I gotta write a fic about it.
> 
> Also, Marco knows she’s trans, but isn’t out to anyone yet. So, other people use he/him pronouns until they know.
> 
> Also, I’m a trans girl, but if any of this comes off as offensive or rude please say. It is not my intention to offend anyone.
> 
> This is my first series, so I hope it turns out OK :)

“And where are you going?”

Marco, who was currently in the middle of zipping her hoodie, looked over shoulder at Star and Janna behind her.

“Tom invited me to go to hell.” This came absentmindedly from the karate expert.

“Oh cool!” Janna was practically giddy eyed at this statement. “Can I come? I’ve never met a demon before? I have a few questions I’ve been meaning to ask him.” After saying this, Janna pulled out a ridiculously long list, which Marco expected contained every question she planned to ask Tom.

“We’re just gonna play ping-pong. No blood-rituals or devil summoning.” Marco stopped talking for a moment. “At least I hope there won’t be any of that.”

A downcast expression appeared on Janna’s face.

“Well, that sounds boring.”

“Janna, don’t be rude!” Star admonished her friend, waving her wand at her in a scolding manner.

A shrug came from Janna.

“I just mean, what’s the point of being friends with a literal freaking Demon if you’re not going to be committing any crimes against nature? Sounds like a missed opportunity.”

What Marco wasn’t telling her friends was that she didn’t hang out with Tom for just the ping-pong. Marco made time to meet up with Tom because she needed someone to talk to. She may not have shown it, but she did have issues with some of the things she and Star had been through. Toffee’s Castle. The Quest-Buy Card incident. Ludo taking the spell book. All of those close brushes with death were leaving a mark on Marco, a constant fear that her next adventure might lead to her end.

“Look.” Marco began, wiping her hair down. “I like ping-pong. Tom likes ping-pong. It’s just two friends hanging out.”

“But, doesn’t Tom always beat you?” It was amazing how Star could say these things without any malice behind them.

“Not ALL the time.” Marco grumbled. “Just a lot of the time.” This came out as a mutter.

She couldn’t exactly go to a therapist about this stuff. There’s no book on how to cope with a small, Goblin monster Mage trying to kill you and your friends.

And she never wanted to tell Star. Marco was nearly a 100 percent sure that Star was having similar feelings about the traumatic things they go through, and didn’t want to add to her worries.

So, that’s where Tom came in.

* * *

 

_3 Months Ago_

The two of them were lounging on a coach, watching one of the first Mackie Hand movies: _Mackie Hand: Come Out Punching and Kicking._

“You know.” Tom drawled out, picking a piece of popcorn and throwing it into his mouth. “This movie might be his best work. It’s not the best dialogue, but the stunts are absolutely dope.”

“’Dope’?” Letting out a chuckle as she said this, sipped from her can of soda. “I wasn’t aware we were in the year 2005.” Marco thought that was pretty good burn.

Rolling his eyes, Tom sat up on the blue couch in the middle of his TV room.

“Look, maybe in your dimension that word has gone out of style, but here it’s brand new.” Kicking his legs up on the table, Tom began to relax more.

The room was far from the picture of cleanliness. There were chocolate bar wrapper thrown around the couch. Empty cans of soda dotted the floor. Crumbs from popcorn, and stuff that neither of them were sure of, was spread around the room.

“So, how are things with you?”

“To be honest, not great.” This came out a lot lighter than Marco had expected. It wasn’t some sort of huge confession. Just a quiet confession of something that had been bubbling under the surface.

Tom stayed quiet for a few seconds.

“Wanna talk about it?”

* * *

 

_Present:_

Marco was knocked out of her thoughts by the sound of something at the window of Star’s room.

Running over, she quickly saw the telltale transport carriage that Tom was so fond of.

The doors of it opened, quickly revealing horned teenager.

“Marco, you ready to get destroyed?” A cocky grin was plastered on Tom’s face.

“Jeez, least let me think I have a chance.” Marco chuckled this as she entered the carriage.

It was when Janna and Star were leaving that Marco heard something she wished she hadn’t.

“You boys have a fun night.”

Marco knew that Star didn’t mean to hurt her. How could she? She didn’t even know.

But it hurt. It hurt a lot.

Marco supposed that even before she met Star she knew she was a girl. Like, she had the feelings of being lost and not knowing what it truly was.

It was only in St. Olga’s that she began to realize what those feelings were.  Having everyone see her as a girl, calling her “She”. The dress. Her long hair in a ponytail. The eyelashes. It just all felt so……right to her.

Ever since then, she’d had been exploring her identity.

Waking up in the middle of the night to try on makeup while everyone else was asleep.

Looking up trans Utubers and comparing her experiences to theirs.

Writing down the feelings of dysphoria in her journal. (One she hid in another dimension. Just so Janna couldn’t find it.)

She was sure of it. Marco Diaz was a trans girl.

But she wasn’t sure of how everyone else would react.

99% of her was sure that Star and her parents would be accepting. They had never done anything to indicate otherwise.

But that 1% of doubt terrified her too much to try it.

Apparently, she had been not doing a good job at hiding her feelings from her face.

“Marco.” Tom began, sipping from a goblet. “Something wrong?”

 _“I can’t tell Tom. Sure, he’s been great about the other stuff. But I don’t even know how demons feel about gender issues.? I can’t risk a bad reaction.”_ Marco had considered telling Tom before. But she had weighed the cons against the pros and decided against it.

“Tom, I think I’m a girl.”

And now she decided for it.

As the words left her mouth, Marco’s mind began racing with worries. What if Demons were transphobic? What if this caused Tom to lose his cool? What if Tom just doesn’t understand at all?

Looking up, Marco was hoping to gauge Tom’s reaction.

Tom was in mid-drink as he heard this, and slowly brought down his goblet.

“Oh, I see.” Tom began swirling the contents of his drink around. He didn’t seem to be reacting angrily. Which Marco was thankful for.

“Do you have a name you want me to call you?”

Relief flooded into Marco as she heard these words.

“N-no. Marco’s fine, thanks.” While Marco was aware that many trans people change their names during their transitions, she never felt that urge. Her name was her name. There was many things that made her feel dysphoric, but her name wasn’t one of them.

Grunting in affirmation, Tom began rubbing the back of his head.

“Look, you don’t need to talk about it if you don’t want to. But I’m all ears if you do.”

Pulling out a juice cartoon she had brought with her, Marco let out a quick chuckle.

“I think our talk tonight might be a bit different than usual.”


	2. Ping-Ponging Conversation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes, the biggest talks of your life can happen over the most trivial of things.
> 
> OR
> 
> Marco and Tom talk about Trans issues over a game of Ping-Pong.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Notes: It’s Ya Girl, Hailing Torrent! :)
> 
> After seeing the awesomeness that was Henious (Marco definitely said “Can I keep the dress on.” In it, and you cannot convince me otherwise) it inspired me to write up another chapy-chap for this story.
> 
> Also, to all the brilliant Kudos, fantastic Bookmarks and wondrous Comments, I would like to say THANK YOU SO MUCH! I am so flattered that so many people enjoy this story. From the bottom of my heart, thank you.
> 
> Slight Trigger Warning: Tom will make some unintentionally cissexist comments. It is not done with any malice, just out of ignorance. I understand that may be triggering to some of the readers, so please put your comfort first.
> 
> Also, if any of this story comes off as offensive please tell me. It is not my intention to do so.

The rest of the carriage ride was of comfortable silence. Marco sat on her side, silently sipping her grape juice from a swirly straw (Marco specifically requested that Tom stock up on them.). The lack of talking wasn’t out of any awkwardness or unease. Quite the contrary, Marco hadn’t felt this relaxed in a long while. So much of the time, she had to endure hearing blows like ‘He’ and ‘Boy’. For the first time in her life, she got to sit with someone who knew she was a girl. And to Marco, that was pretty damn sweet.

Marco did plan to talk to Tom about this. So far, the only times she had been able to converse about Trans topics was through chatrooms and messageboards. And while she was deeply grateful for that, she disliked that form of communication. To Marco, it felt impersonal and distant. No face to look at. No eyes to meet with hers. It just wasn’t the same as doing things in person.

Plus, she didn’t have to deal with internet Trolls when she was with Tom. Marco would take an actual Troll over them any day.  At that moment, Marco realized that she HAS taken on actual Trolls in the past. This only confirmed her point.

To Tom’s credit, he understood Marco’s decision to not speak further, and didn’t try to push her boundaries. Marco would talk when she was ready. Until then, a little bit of quiet never hurt anyone.

The two sat in the black carriage, its red windows only adding to the infernal look that Tom was most likely intending. The heavy breathing of the Hellstead leading it reinforced  the atmosphere. Demonic images were etched into the interior of the carriage, screaming horned faces and long, dreadful claws.

Marco laughed slightly to herself. If this was a year ago, she would’ve ran terrified from the sight of this hell carriage. But now, she knew that appearances could be deceptive.

Take Tom for instance. A teenage Devil with anger issues who can literally go aflame when enraged. Marco saw him as a threat the first time they met.

But, like they say, you should never judge someone by a first impression.

Now, Marco knew that Tom was far more than just his anger. He was someone who was honestly trying to better himself. Someone who could admit his faults. Someone who, under the rough literally burning exterior, had a kind soul.

Stopping her train of thought, Marco wondered if Demons actually had souls. She put this in the “Ask Later”  folder.

A quick jolt of the carriage landing caused the two of them to jump slightly. After this, they shared a chuckle with one another. No matter how many times they took this trip, they never got used to the landing.

Opening the door, Tom made an exaggerated gesture towards the opening to Marco.

“Is M’lady ready to get thoroughly destroyed in a game of Ping-Pong against the undefeated champion?” An arrogant smirk appeared on Tom’s face as this playful rhetorical question was dared.

Feeling a smile appear on her face, Marco couldn’t even bring herself to reply to Tom’s taunt. This was the first time she heard someone refer to her as a girl since St. Olgas.

Marco also just realized that a blush started to form on her face. Placing a hand to shield her cheeks, she coughed to dispel her smile.

“Hey, I beat you that one time. Back in October, remember?”

Standing up from his welcoming display, Tom brought a bemused expression on his face.

“You mean the time I literally fell asleep mid-game? I thought we didn’t count that.”

Walking out of the carriage, Marco let out a contemptuous “Hmmph!” sound at Tom’s retort.

“We were in game, and it therefore counts. I’m sorry, Mr. Prince of Hell. That’s just the rules.” Looking around the room, Marco saw the usual set up. The flat screen TV in front the ragged brown couch. A Playstation on the desk next to it, numerous video game boxes scattered around it.

Then, her eyes settled on the topic of the evening.

A large, purely green, Ping-Pong table stood to the left side of the room, a paddle on either side.

Skipping over, Marco grabbed a paddle, flipping it in her hand.

“You ready, Tom?”

Following Marco, Tom hesitantly picked up his own paddle, quirking an eyebrow in confusion at Marco.

“I thought you said wanted to talk?”

“I do.” Flipping the paddle once again, a little thing she did to get used to the feel, Marco focused her eyes on Tom. “We can do both at the same time. No law against it.”

Looking up from his paddle, Tom pointed it at Marco.

“Actually, there is in Hell.”

This caused Marco to have a dumbfounded look on her face.

“Wha-Why is that a law?”

Resting a finger on his chin, Tom spoke coolly.

“Yup. Ever since I was a kid, the law states that no-one shall ever be allowed to play Ping-Pong and speak at the same time. I believe it’s called……Oh what was it again?” Tom began snapping his fingers, trying to find the word he was thinking of. With a dramatic snap! he smiled widely at Marco.

“Oh Right! It’s called the ‘Ms. Marco Diaz will believe anything you tell her’ law.” The smile turned into a laugh at this point.

Letting out a loud groan at Tom’s joke, Marco grabbed the ball on her side of the table.

“If your game is as good as your jokes tonight, you’re in big trouble.” Now it was Marco’s turn to smirk.

Making a sound of readiness, Tom got his paddle ready.

They began slowly, batting the ball back and forth. First point to Tom, as it always is.

Then second point to Tom, as it always is.

Then third point to Tom, as it always is.

Realizing they were settling into their normal routine, Marco decided to get the conversation ball rolling.

“Is there anything you want to know? About me being Trans, I mean?” In all her time of preparing to discuss this topic, Marco always planned to make this question the first thing she said after she Came Out to someone. Testing the waters, as it were.

The sudden beginning of the conversation caught Tom off guard, the Ping-Pong ball slipping past his defence. Shaking his head, he quickly picked the ball up and served it.

“Did you always know you wanted to be a girl?”

Without realizing it, Marco hit the ball a little harder than normal after this question.

She was prepared for things like this. The little assumptions that Cis people sometimes have. Marco knew that Tom had no malice behind it, so she didn’t let her slight annoyance show.

“Tom, I don’t want to be a girl. I AM a girl.” Trying to sound as neutral as possible, Marco continued batting the ball back and forth, not quite looking at Tom.

His eyes widening, Tom began falling over himself verbally.

“Oh, shit! I’m so sorry. I sho- I didn- Marco, I’m sorry.” Rather predictably, the ball managed to sink through Tom’s defence once more during this moment.

Waving her hand, Marco resumed looking at Tom.

“Tom, it’s OK. I get that everyone doesn’t know this stuff like I do.”

This seemed to calm Tom somewhat. With a quick nod and an additional apology, Tom resumed batting the ball.

Marco took this as her time to continuing speaking.

“I don’t really know how to describe it exactly. When I was younger, it was kinda like……..wearing a left shoe on your right foot, but not knowing it. It’s uncomfortable. It ruins your day. You can’t relax in it. And you have no idea why.” The ball managed to fly past Marco. She picked it up, hitting it back once more.

“I started to realize a bit more as I got older. Seeing stuff girls wear and being like ‘Could I wear that? Would my parents be OK with that?’ I thought about asking them, but I was scared. There were a lot of bullies in my school, who made a habit in particular of going after anyone different. Being Latinx, I was already a target. I wasn’t about to make myself more of one.”

“So, I found other ways of focusing my feelings. The anger I felt I turned to karate. The wanting to be creative with my appearance, I used that for cooking. I turned the craziness I felt inside to something I could do. Something I wouldn’t be made fun of for. But, it still didn’t make the left shoe feel anymore comfortable.”

“It was only when Star first came that I began to put everything together. Seeing someone so confident in herself like she was. So unafraid of what people thought of her. And people didn’t make fun of her. No, they loved her! Seeing that, it made me feel like maybe it was OK to start showing who I truly was.”

Surprising herself, Marco was able to keep up with Tom while saying this. She wasn’t sure if it was because she was good at focusing, or if Tom was just as distracted as her, balancing things out.

“But when me and Star went to St. Olga’s, that’s when the final piece of the puzzle fell in. For the first time in my life, I got to walk through somewhere and be seen as a girl. I wasn’t made fun of. Or mocked. I was just like all the other girls there.”

Feeling emotion coming up, Marco purposefully let the next ball fly by her.

“I was finally seen as me.”

Trying to downplay how dramatic the moment was, Marco picked up the ball and threw it again to Tom.

“After that, it was pretty hard to ignore the writing on the wall. Everything that seemed so confusing was suddenly way too clear.”

Taking a breath, Marco hoped that would show Tom that she was done speaking.

Luckily, Tom took the non-verbal que, and began to reply.

“Well, I gotta say, Marco. I’m proud of you. It takes a lot of guts to be yourself.” Holding the ball in his hand for a moment, Tom looked at it absentmindedly. “I know I have a temper problem. And I know it’s caused a lot of trouble in my life. I knew I should’ve asked for help with it, but I was scared. Scared that if I showed people this side of me, they would think I was broken.” Shaking off this brief feeling of dourness, Tom refocused on Marco. “So, yeah. I’m proud of you. You could almost say that I’m…….” A cheesy grin appeared on Tom’s face.

“Proud as hell.” The cheesy grin turned quickly into an uproar of laughter from the Demon Prince.

This was met with an equally loud groan from the girl across the table.

“I’ll forfeit the game right now if you promised to never make that pun again.”

 


	3. Mackie Hand and Hell

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A good Movie Marathon is hard to beat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Notes: Hey-Hey! HailingTorrent here, in the digital flesh.
> 
> I would just like to say thank you to everyone who sent in Kudos, Comments and Bookmarks for this story. I am just so overwhelmed by the support I am getting for this fic :) I love all of you guys so much! :)

Contrary to popular belief, Hell was not a hot place. Sure, there was ample amounts of flame and lava and what have you. But it actually didn’t give off any heat. When Marco had asked Tom about why Demons would need so much usual scenery, he simply shrugged his shoulders and replied “Aesthetic.”

Despite Hell not being a humid place, Marco felt boiling in her hoodie. This was most likely due to how much energy she had been putting into keeping up with Tom in Ping-Pong. Some would think it would be rather competitive to put so much effort into a friendly game. Marco would tell those people that there is nothing friendly about her and Tom’s Ping-Pong games. To the victor goes the Bragging Rights, as they say.

And would Tom brag.

_“If he does that stupid victory dance, I’m gonna nail him with my paddle.”_ This thought came through Marco’s head as she gritted her teeth, darting back and forth across her side of the table, unwilling  to let the game deciding point make its way through her defences.

_“I’m so going to do the victory dance.”_ The mind of Tom, unknowing of the threat of a flying Pin g-Pong paddle, absentmindedly decided this.

After Tom’s pun (Marco resisted the urge to massage the bridge of her nose at the thought of it), the two had entered their usual routine of Ping-Pong. Marco raced to meet the ball everytime it came her way. She practically looked like something out of a Sports Anime. 

Tom was winning as usual. It wasn’t any fault on Marco’s side. She just couldn’t compete with Tom’s supernatural ability. Tom had offered before to play by lowering himself to Human levels, but Marco always refused. Marco had to face otherworldly threats on a daily basis. Their little matches helped keep her game up.

“14-6, Missy.” Tom cackled out with a toothy smirk. Bouncing the ball up and down in his hand, he threw it upwards and batted it with a quick swing when it reached halfway to the table.

Marco focused her eyes, ignoring the large difference in their scores. If Marco didn’t protect this, the game was over. She had to put all her strength and skill into stopping it.

And she missed it.

A “Woo-hoo!” from the opposite side of the table signalled to Marco that the game was over. She supposed she should be proud of herself. She never managed to get this high a score against Tom before. Usually she’d be lucky to get a single point. And there was one time Marco somehow managed to get a _minus_ score. She’s still not sure how she managed that.

Placing her head on the surface of the table, Marco let out a loud sigh.

“Just, go ahead and do the dance.” She looked up, getting ready to view the spectacle of victory that was the “Tom Dance of Ping-Pong Supremacy.”

The smile that had been plastered on Tom’s face died down slightly. It was still there, just not as gloating as it once was.

“Nah, I think I’ll start saving that for when I really crush you.” Waving his hand, Tom let out a small chuckle at his own words.

Grunting in agreement, Marco sat up and began to fiddle and spin here paddle in her hand.

“So, what do you wanna do now?”

Placing a thinking finger on his chin, Tom hummed in thought. Suddenly, a knowing smirk appeared.

This was mirrored by one of Marco’s own.

“Mackie-Hand marathon?”  The same suggestion came from both of them simultaneously. With a nod, they made their way over to Tom’s luxury TV.

The area wasn’t something you’d expect from someone who was basically infernal royalty, but Marco suspected that Tom liked it that way.

The couch that sat in front of the TV was a torn up thing. The Ol’ Girl, Tom would call it. Marco never asked why he gave it that name. A plain brown colour, bits of the fabric could be seen sticking out from random spots on it. It was coated in a myriad of stains. When Marco once spilled her soda on it, Tom stopped her from trying to clean the stain. Said it “Gave the Ol’ Girl some history.”

The TV, on the other hand, did not mirror the couch in much ways. It was wide, spanning 40 inches from the left to right. It had HD capabilities, or as Tom called it “Purgatory Definition.” Marco was 85% sure that he made that up to mess with her. Well, it was more like 100%.

Kneeling down in front of his  television, Tom pulled out one of the drawers beneath it.

“OK! We got Mackie Hand: Return of the Fist. Mackie Hand: Cliffjumper. Mackie Hand Reloaded: A Fist Full of Fists. Mackie Hand: The Christmas Special. Mack-“ Before Tom could continue, Marco spoke up with her own idea.

“I wouldn’t mind watching Return of the Fist. I’m a big fan of the original Fire-Chop they have in it. Back when they had that badass actor, instead of the CGI they use now.”

Tom nodded, quickly retrieving the one his friend requested. Although, Marco swore that she heard Tom mutter “I actually like the CGI version.” This wouldn’t surprise her. They had lengthy arguments over practical effects vs digital.

With a deft hand, Tom inserted the DVD before kicking off the back of his feet into the couch. Marco quickly copied him, falling down next to the Demon Prince.

As Tom raised the remote to press play, a hand shot up to stop him.

“Everything OK, Marco?” After his mess up earlier, Tom was doing all he could to make sure that Marco was comfortable.

“Yeah, it’s fine. I was just………” Marco was twiddling her thumbs. From the times they hung out, Tom knew this meant things weren’t fine. The last time she did it was when she was nervous about dating Jackie. The time before that was after she corrupted herself with dark magic. If Marco was twiddling her thumbs, something was on her mind.

“Actually, it’s nothing. Never mind I said anything. Let’s just watch the movie.”

“Something’s up with you, Girl. What’s wrong?” While Tom was trying to be polite as possible, something that would annoy him is when people refuse to admit that there was a problem. He supposed it might have had to do with how long he took to admit he had anger management issues.

Raising her hands in a defusing manner, Marco stopped halfway through. With a tired sigh, she revealed.

“You’ve known Star longer than I have. Do you think she would be OK with-with me being a girl?”

_“Oh.”_ Tom began to realize he should’ve seen this question coming. Marco and Star were best friends. He was honestly surprised that Marco hadn’t Come Out to her first.

“Would Star have a problem? No way! The moment you tell her, she’ll be begging to go dress shopping with you.” Tom was actually laughing at Marco’s worry. Not in a mocking way. It was his manner of trying to clear up Marco’s worrying. To show her she had nothing to be afraid of. “Star Butterfly is literally the most open person I know. The only problem you’ll have is her being TOO supportive. She’ll want to do your makeup constantly. Bring you to all her Princess groups. I swear, once you tell her, it’ll probably be the last I see of you.” While he didn’t show it, there was a twinge of worry in Tom’s words. Hanging out with Marco was the best fun he’s had in a long time. Ping-Pong. Mackie-Hand movies. Talking about how interdimensional scissors work. It was all so easy with Marco. Tom really didn’t want to lose that.

Hearing Tom’s comforting words, Marco also began to laugh lightly.  She lightly punched Tom’s arm.

“You won’t get rid of me that easily.” Marco meant it. Tom was someone she didn’t feel like she had to be strong in front of. She could let the walls come down and just be herself. Not that she couldn’t with Star, but it was just easier with Tom.

“We gonna watch this movie, or what?” Falling back into the couch, Tom aimed the remote forward.

“Sure.” Propped her feet on the coffee table in front of them, relaxing. “Just one more thing.”

An eyebrow propped up, Tom was curious.

“What?”

Closing her eyes, Marco let out in a sing-song voice.

“Just wanted to remind you that practical effects are waaaaayyyyyy better than CGI.”

And with that provoking comment, they entered yet another of the lengthy arguments.

 


End file.
